4 Ways to Fit Leader Development Into Your Busy Schedule

Have you ever found yourself struggling to find time in the week to conduct Leader Development sessions?

You know leader development is important and want to do it, but you simply can’t find the time. How on Earth are you going to fit something else into a calendar that is already over full? This article will show you how to incorporate development sessions into your schedule without adding to your busy schedule.

Always Out of Time

As a field grade officer in a battalion (500-800 person unit), I found myself drowning in to do lists and unfinished tasks that had to get done. There was no shortage of things to do and not nearly enough time to do them without burning out our Soldiers or neglecting my family. I was already eating breakfast and lunch at my desk and was home late for dinner on most occasions.

We didn’t have the time to get all the things we needed to get done, let alone stop what we were doing in order to teach people how to do their jobs. I knew that our organization could get more done together if we just had the requisite knowledge. Our unit seemed to be moving too fast and doing too much to add anything else to the calendar.

Incorporate Development into Your Existing Routine

My calendar was full of back-to-back meetings. I decided to look for opportunities to incorporate development sessions within the routine events that were already occurring throughout the week. This would allow me to kill two birds with one stone. I started with Physical Training and expanded from there. Below are three easy ways to incorporate leader development into your calendar without cramming more events into a jam-packed schedule.

4 Simple Methods

• Physical Training (PT): You are (or should be) conducting PT daily anyway. So why not incorporate a leader development session during PT? We picked Wednesdays, which was the day we did foot marches (think backpacking).   Walking a few miles with a rucksack (back pack) was an activity allowed us to work out while being able to hold a conversation at the same time. Key is preparation and knowing the topic as you won’t have Power Point to use as a crutch.

• Meals: Chances are that you eat meals while at work on a daily basis. Most people do. Instead of eating at your desk while checking email, you can take the opportunity to eat breakfast or lunch at the dining facility with your team. Going over leader development over a meal is an easy way to build cohesion with your people.  This will have the additional benefit of not eating meals too quickly, which is better for your health.
• Over Coffee: Many people drink coffee in the morning at work. Next time you go to the coffee maker, instead of BSing with your team about last night’s game, you can take 15 minutes to review a concept or review the points of an article you shared.
• Close Out Formation: Drew Steadman ‘s article at The Military Leader also shares various ways to use close out formations as a venue for professional development. These ideas include having seasoned combat leaders share a story or having a guest speaker talk among others.

Conclusion

At first glance it may seem difficult to add leader development sessions into an already full calendar. If you look closely at your busy schedule, you can probably find some opportunities to develop your team by incorporating development into other activities. When you take advantage of those opportunities, you will be glad you did. Investing in your team always pays great dividends.

Question: In what ways do you fit leader development into your schedule?